Review of Pan's Labyrinth

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'Pan's Labyrinth' truly is a fairytale for adults. Do not be fooled by the fairytale like appearance of its trailers or posters, there is a sinister side to this movie. The production is fabulous, as is the acting and the story. What disappointed me a bit was the fantasy subplot. There really wasn't much in the way of magical worlds and creatures, which I what I was expecting. The heroine of the movie, Ofelia, is given three tasks to perform by a faun for her to return to her kingdom where she is a Princess. The first task is very short, the second is the most impressive, both fabulously filmed and wonderfully suspenseful, and the third isn't really a task at all, but rather an emotional scene. Apart from a few bits and pieces here and there, they are the only parts of the film that feature a fantastic fantasy world. The rest, although enjoyable, is the story of Ofelia fitting in to her new house, and her step father, the sinister Captain Vidal, tracking down the last rebels in post-Civil war Spain, with other real time subplots going on as well.
The film is gory, thrilling and wonderfully well made, but was also very dark and I found the transitions of fantasy into the story sometimes hard to follow. Nevertheless, it was an excellent film and one which I recommend to people who like dark war films and twisted fantasy.